Valaam Monastery

Valaam is an archipelago of about fifty islands in northern Ladoga, granite and pine, and the monastery on the main island is old enough that its foundation date is disagreed on - traditions run from the tenth to the fourteenth century, and the documentary record starts later. It sat on a contested frontier and was destroyed and refounded several times. The nineteenth century is when it took its present form: the Transfiguration cathedral of the 1890s with a tall bell tower, and a scatter of sketes - small subordinate hermitage settlements - across the islands, each with a chapel, reached by paths through forest and by water, which is what makes the place unusual. Between the wars Valaam was in Finland; the community evacuated in 1940 and founded New Valamo in Finland, which still exists. The Russian monastery was refounded in 1989, and the relationship between it and the museum and the remaining lay residents has been contested.

History

It is unclear when the monastery was founded, since it is not documented before the 16th century, and one tradition names the Greek monk Sergius and his Karelian companion Herman as its 10th-century founders. It stood empty from 1611 to 1715, after Finland's independence in 1917 it became the main monastery of the Finnish Orthodox Church, and in 1940 its 150 monks moved to Heinävesi, where New Valamo still exists; the original monastery was returned to the church in 1989 (Wikipedia, Valaam Monastery).

What you'll find

• The sketes - small hermitage settlements with chapels scattered across the islands.
• The 1890s cathedral - the Transfiguration with its tall bell tower on the main island.
• The granite and pine - Ladoga skerry landscape across about fifty islands.
• The Finnish chapter - a community that evacuated in 1940 and founded New Valamo.

When to go

June to September, when boats run. A day trip from Sortavala, or an overnight. Ladoga weather cancels crossings.

Things to know

Crossings are cancelled by weather with little notice. Access is largely on organised tours with fixed routes; independent wandering is restricted. Dress rules are enforced. Disputes over the island's lay residents and their housing are a live local issue.

Nearby

Sortavala is the mainland base; the Ladoga skerries surround the archipelago.

Key facts